Sultan Pleco (L264)

Care at a glance

Overview

A medium-large pleco for a tank of 250 liters or more with brisk current and caves. Feed a carnivore diet of frozen or live snails, bloodworms, mysis, prawn, and chopped mussel along with sinking carnivore pellets, not a vegetable staple. Territorial toward similar fish but generally civil with unlike tankmates when it has its own cave.

In the wild

Lives in fast-flowing rocky rapids and driftwood snags of the middle Tapajos. It is a carnivore, and its teeth mark it as an invertebrate feeder that hunts snails and small prey rather than grazing algae. Wants strong flow, high oxygen, and rock or wood caves.

Good to know

Described as Leporacanthicus joselimai, it wears a soft gray body finely peppered with small dark spots, subtler than its flashier relatives. Like other Leporacanthicus it has enlarged teeth suited to prying invertebrates loose. It is one of the more understated but sought-after plecos in the genus.

Did you know

Its clean gray body and pinhead spotting make it look almost plain next to other L-numbers, yet that understated look is exactly why collectors prize a well-grown sultan.

Related species

• Vampire Pleco (L029)

  Leporacanthicus galaxias

  9.8 in (25 cm)66 gal (250 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)

• 

  Gold nugget pleco

  Baryancistrus sp. cf. xanthellus

  9.8 in (25 cm)55 gal (210 L)81–90°F (27–32°C)
• Blue Phantom Pleco (L128)

  Hemiancistrus sp. L128

  9.8 in (25 cm)66 gal (250 L)81–86°F (27–30°C)

• 

  Green Phantom Pleco (L200)

  Hemiancistrus subviridis

  7.1 in (18 cm)53 gal (200 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)

• 

  Blue-eyed pleco

  Panaque cochliodon

  11.8 in (30 cm)119 gal (450 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Spotted pleco

  Hypostomus punctatus

  11.8 in (30 cm)79 gal (300 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)